The Nepali student who reportedly died by suicide in February had lodged a sexual harassment complaint with the authorities at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in March 2024, Odisha Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj told the state Assembly on Friday, PTI reported.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the third-year student, pursuing her Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science from the institute, filed the complaint on March 12, 2024, about 11 months before her death.

Suraj was replying to a written question from Congress MLA Dasarathi Gomanga in the Assembly.

The 20-year-old student was found dead in the university hostel on February 16. She was believed to have died by suicide due to a suspected “strained relationship” and the harassment that she allegedly faced from a male batchmate on campus.

On February 17, the Bhubaneswar Police arrested a 21-year-old man from Lucknow in connection with the alleged suicide. The first information report alleges that he was blackmailing the Nepali student.

The student’s death had triggered tensions on campus. About 500 Nepali students at the university claimed that they had been forcibly evicted from campus on February 17 for protesting their batchmate’s death.

As protests escalated, the university administration had announced that the campus was closed for Nepali students, instructing them to vacate immediately, according to reports. Subsequently, Nepali students were told to board buses and were dropped at several railway stations for them to return home.

However, the order asking students to vacate the campus was revoked on February 17 amid pressure as the incident had triggered a diplomatic row between Kathmandu and New Delhi.

A case had also been registered against Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology officials for allegedly manhandling students from Nepal who were protesting the incident.

In February, Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission had urged its Indian counterpart to conduct an investigation into the alleged suicide and ensure the safety of students from the country in the university.

The Odisha government set up a fact-finding commission, led by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Satyabrata Sahu, to investigate the circumstances of the death of the student, the alleged misconduct by the university administration and the reasons for the institute to have directed Nepali students to vacate the campus.

On March 3, the National Human Rights Commission ordered an on-spot inquiry into the death.

During the Assembly session on Friday, Suraj said that 19 persons had appeared so far and recorded their statements before the commission set up by the state government.

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology had also submitted documents to the state government in connection with the formation of an internal committee as per the guidelines of the University Grants Commission, he added.